Years before, a manufacturer built a great dock parallel to the small northern Michigan town, on the Lake Superior. When the factory was abandoned, the space between the dock and the shore was known as the 'Cinder Pond'.
Jeanne lived in the squatter's colony, along the dock shanties. It is a different area to grow up. Fascinating to some, horrifying to others. Jeanne's father has remarried, to a nice Irish woman. Jeanne's father is determined that Jeanne will grow up to be a lady, and so he sends her to live with relatives so she will become educated. Jeanne is not happy with this arrangement. Though they are her relatives, Jeanne considers them complete strangers. And the only one who treats her nicely, is her grandfather. Jeanne tries to settle into her new life, thought she yearns to the Cinder Pond, to reunite with her younger stepbrothers and stepsisters.